Etymology

The exact origin of the word বাংলাBangla (Bengali) and বঙ্গBongo (Bengal) is unknown, though the word is believed to be derived from the Dravidian-speaking tribe called Bang that settled in the area around the year 1000 BC.[4] It could also be derived from the word Vanga, which was a kingdom in the Bengal region during the times of Mahabharata as mentioned in Sanskrit literature.[5]

History

Remnants of Copper Age settlements in the Bengal region date back 4,300 years.[6][7] After the arrival of Indo-Aryans, the kingdoms of Anga, Bongo, and Magadha were formed by the 10th century BC, located in the Bihar and Bengal regions. Magadha was one of the four main kingdoms of India at the time of Buddha and consisted of several Janapadas.[8] One of the earliest foreign references to Bengal is the mention of a land named Gangaridai by the Greeks around 100 BC, located in an area in Bengal.[9] From the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD, the kingdom of Magadha served as the seat of the Gupta Empire.[10]

Two kingdoms – Vanga or Samatata and Gauda – are mentioned in some texts to have appeared after the end of Gupta Empire, although details of their ruling time are uncertain.[11] The first recorded independent king of Bengal was Shashanka who reigned in the early 7th century.[12] After a period of anarchy,[13]:36 the native Buddhist Pala Empire ruled the region for four hundred years, and expanded across a large part of South Asia during the reigns of Dharmapala and Devapala.[13]:36–55[14] Bengal was invaded by a Hindu Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty for a short period in the 11th century.[15] The Pala dynasty was followed by the reign of the Hindu Sena dynasty.[16] Islam started to appear in Bengal during the late 11th century, in the form of Sufism.[17] Beginning in 1202 a military commander from the Delhi Sultanate, Bakhtiar Khilji, overran Bihar and Bengal as far east as Rangpur, Bogra, and the Brahmaputra River.[18][19] Although he failed to bring Bengal under his control, the expedition managed to defeat Lakshman Sen and his two sons, who moved to Bikramapur (present-day Munshiganj District), from where they ruled over a smaller area until the late 13th century.[18]

In East Pakistan, starting from the Bengali Language Movement of 1952,[34] political dissent against West Pakistani domination grew steadily. The Awami League, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, emerged as the political voice of the Bengali-speaking population of East Pakistan by the 1960s.[35] In 1971, the crisis deepened when Rahman was arrested and a sustained military assault was launched on East Pakistan.[36] Most of the Awami League leaders fled and set up a government-in-exile in West Bengal. The guerrillaMukti Bahini and Bengali regulars eventually received support from the Indian Armed Forces in December 1971, resulting in a decisive victory over Pakistan on 16 December in the Bangladesh Liberation War or Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[37] The independent nation of Bangladesh was established. However, the nation of Bangladesh, since its creation, suffered from continuous political instability and prolonged martial and autocratic rules.

West Bengal, the western part of Bengal, became a state in India. In the 1960s and 1970s, severe power shortages, strikes and a violent Marxist-Naxalite movement damaged much of the state's infrastructure, leading to a period of economic stagnation. The Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 resulted in the influx of millions of refugees to West Bengal, causing significant strains on its infrastructure.[38] West Bengal politics underwent a major change when the Left Front won the 1977 assembly election, defeating the incumbent Indian National Congress. The Left Front, led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) governed the state for over three decades.

Geography

Most of the Bengal region is in the low-lying Ganges–Brahmaputra River Delta or Ganges Delta. The Ganges Delta arises from the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers and their respective tributaries. The total area of Bengal is 232,752 km2—West Bengal is 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi) and Bangladesh 147,570 km2 (56,977 sq mi).

Most parts of Bangladesh are within 10 metres (33 feet) above the sea level, and it is believed that about 10% of the land would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 metre (3.3 feet).[39] Because of this low elevation, much of this region is exceptionally vulnerable to seasonal flooding due to monsoons. The highest point in Bangladesh is in Mowdok range at 1,052 metres (3,451 feet) in the Chittagong Hill Tracts to the southeast of the country.[40] A major part of the coastline comprises a marshyjungle, the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world and home to diverse flora and fauna, including the royal Bengal tiger. In 1997, this region was declared endangered.[41]

At least nine districts in West Bengal and 42 districts in Bangladesh have arsenic levels in groundwater above the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit of 50 µg/L (micro gram per litre) or 50 parts per billion and the untreated water is unfit for human consumption.[44] The water causes arsenicosis, skin cancer and various other complications in the body. Arsenic is four times as poisonous as mercury.

Major cities

The following are the largest cities in Bengal (in terms of population):

Demographics

According to provisional results of 2011 Bangladesh census, population of Bangladesh was 142,319,000;[50] however, CIA's The World Factbook gives 163,654,860 as its population in a July 2013 estimate. According to the provisional results of the 2011 Indian national census, West Bengal has a population of 91,347,736.[51] So, the Bengal region, as of 2011, has at least 233 million people. This figures give a population density of 1003.9/km2; making it among the most densely populated areas in the world.[1][2]

Life expectancy is around 70.36 years for Bangladesh[53] and 63.4 for West Bengal.[54][55] In terms of literacy, West Bengal leads with 77% literacy rate,[1] in Bangladesh the rate is approximately 59.82%.[56][57] The level of poverty and illiteracy is high, the proportion of people living below the poverty line is more than 30%.[58][59]

About 20,000 people live on chars. Chars are temporary islands formed by the deposition of sediments eroded off the banks of the Ganges in West Bengal which often disappear in the monsoon season. They are made of very fertile soil. The inhabitants of chars are not recognised by the Government of West Bengal on the grounds that it is not known whether they are Bengalis or Bangladeshi refugees. Consequently, no identification documents are issued to char-dwellers who cannot benefit from health care, barely survive because of very poor sanitation and are prevented from emigrating to the mainland to find jobs when they have turned 14. On a particular char it was reported that 13% of women died at childbirth.[60]

Economy

Agriculture is the leading occupation in the region. Rice is the staple food crop. Other food crops are pulses, potato, maize, and oil seeds. Jute is the principal cash crop. Tea is also produced commercially; the region is well known for Darjeeling and other high-quality teas.

Historically, Europe once regarded Bengal as "the richest country to trade with".[61]

West Bengal

The service sector is the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of West Bengal, contributing 60% of the state domestic product compared to 25% from agriculture and 15% from industry.[66] State industries are localised in the Kolkata region and the mineral-rich western highlands. Durgapur–Asansol colliery belt is home to a number of major steel plants.[67] As of 2014–15[update] West Bengal had the sixth-largest economy in India, with a net state domestic product of US$120.9 billion.[66] During 2011–12, the state's net SDP growth rate was 6.7%, slightly above the national GDP growth rate.[68] The state has promoted foreign direct investment, which has mostly occurred in the software and electronics fields;[69] Kolkata is becoming a major hub for the information technology (IT) industry. Owing to the boom in Kolkata's and the overall state's economy, West Bengal as of 2005[update] had the third-fastest-growing economy in India.[70] It is also known as the cultural capital of India.

Rice and fish are traditional favourite foods, leading to a saying that in Bengali, mach ar bhaath bangali baanaay, that translates as "fish and rice make a Bengali".[73] Bengal's vast repertoire of fish-based dishes includes Hilsa preparations, a favourite among Bengalis. Bengalis make distinctive sweetmeats from milk products, including Rôshogolla, Chômchôm, and several kinds of Pithe.

Bengali women commonly wear the shaŗi and the salwar kameez, often distinctly designed according to local cultural customs. In urban areas, many women and men wear Western-style attire. Among men, European dressing has greater acceptance. Men also wear traditional costumes such as the kurta with dhoti or pyjama, often on religious occasions. The lungi, a kind of long skirt, is widely worn by Bangladeshi men.

Around 200 dailies are published in Bangladesh, along with more than 1800 periodicals. West Bengal had 559 published newspapers in 2005,[75] of which 430 were in Bengali.[75]Cricket and football are popular sports in the Bengal region. Local games include sports such as Kho Kho and Kabaddi, the later being the national sport of Bangladesh. An Indo-Bangladesh Bengali Games has been organised among the athletes of the Bengali speaking areas of the two countries.[76]

Intra-Bengal relations today

Geographic, cultural, historic, and commercial ties are growing, and both countries recognise the importance of good relations. During and immediately after Bangladesh's struggle for independence from Pakistan in 1971, India assisted refugees from East Pakistan, and intervened militarily to help bring about the independence of Bangladesh. The Indo-Bangladesh border length of 4,095 km (2,545 mi), West Bengal has a border length of 2,216 km (1,377 mi).[77] Despite overlapping historic, geographic and cultural ties, the relation between West Bengal and Bangladesh is still well below the potential.[78] The pan-Bengali sentiment among the people of the two parts of Bengal was at its height during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.[79] While the government radio and national press in India might have backed the struggle out of strategic considerations, the Bengali broadcast and print media went out of its way to lend overwhelming support.[79]

Visa services are provided by Bangladesh's consulate at Kolkata's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Road and India's high commissions in Dhaka, Chittagong and Rajshahi. India has a liberal visa policy and nearly 500,000 visas[78] are issued every year to Bangladeshi students, tourists, health-tourists and others who visit West Bengal and often transit to other parts of India.

Undocumented immigration of Bangladeshi workers is a controversial issue[78] championed by right-wing nationalist parties in India but finds little sympathy in West Bengal. India has fenced the border to control this flow but immigration is still continuing.[81]

The official land border crossing at Petrapole-Benapole is the primary conduit for the over $1 billion trade between the two-halves of Bengal. The volume of unofficial exports to Bangladesh from India is reportedly in the range of $350–500 million each year.[82]

↑"History of Bangladesh". Bangladesh Student Association. Archived from the original on 19 December 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2006.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>

↑Fiske, John. "The Famine of 1770 in Bengal". The Unseen World, and other essays. University of Adelaide Library Electronic Texts Collection. Retrieved 26 October 2006.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>

↑"Wandering Gaia". "The Give and Take of the Ganges" WordPress.com. Retrieved 13 April 2009.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>

↑Nanda, J. N (2005). Bengal: the unique state. Concept Publishing Company. p. 10. ISBN978-81-8069-149-2. Retrieved 22 November 2010. Bengal [...] was rich in the production and export of grain, salt, fruit, liquors and wines, precious metals and ornaments besides the output of its handlooms in silk and cotton. Europe referred to Bengal as the richest country to trade with.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>